


the strongest shape in nature

by liroa15



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, Multi, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-05-30 20:49:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15104621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liroa15/pseuds/liroa15
Summary: As far as Leon knows, Soulbonds always happen between two people and only two people. So how exactly is it that he has two seperate Bonds?





	the strongest shape in nature

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluenorth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluenorth/gifts).



> For bluenorth for the 2018 Poly Hockey challenge. I tried my best to incorporate the things you talked about in your letter, so I hope you like it! Many thanks to shana0809 for the beta-work on a very short timeline.

After the Draft, Leon is so excited for his first rookie camp that he can barely sleep. This is it, everything he’s been working for since he first realized that there was something to be working for. He doesn’t even care that the Oilers aren’t a very good team because that’s what he’s here for: to make them better. To make them the _best_. 

The first time he steps out onto the ice, he picks out the guys he knows from the Dub. Moroz is here, fresh off the Memorial Cup win, and a couple other guys he’s been playing against for years. The goalies are all off in their weird little goalie huddle, and Leon’s not going close to that. Goalies are fucking weird.

The d-men are down at the other side of the ice, listening to the defensive coach explain what he wants to see on a white board. He can see Darnell Nurse, last year’s first round pick, down there with the rest of the d-men. Their eyes meet for half a second, and Leon feels something almost like an electric shock. He’s not sure what it _is_ , exactly, except nerves.

With difficulty, Leon tears his attention away from what’s happening on the rest of the ice to listen to what the coaches want him to do. It’s time to prove that he belongs here. 

~

Darnell Nurse gets sent back down to the OHL before Leon remembers to ask him about that feeling from their first day. So Leon puts it from his mind and tries to play the best hockey he can.

It doesn’t do much good. They lose more than they win, and it wears on everybody, especially Hallsy and Ebby and Nuge.

They send him back down to the WHL after the Christmas break, to Kelowna instead of back to Prince Albert. Kelowna are a good team with a championship pedigree, and it’s a much prettier place to live on top of that. Leon’s looking forward to actually winning some games with them.

In Kelowna, they win a lot of games. And then they win the league, which is fucking amazing. And then they don’t win the Memorial Cup. They come close, so close, but that only makes it worse. 

And then the Oilers draft Connor McDavid. Leon’s not exactly sure what to think about that. Leon knows Connor McDavid is everything the pundits have been saying for years and more. He knows that he’s going to make the Oilers a better team. He just doesn’t know what that means for him, which puts him on edge.

~

The answer comes pretty quickly when he gets to his second development camp. 

The first time Leon makes eye contact with Connor—call me Davo—he can feel the Bond snap into place, just like it does in all the rom-coms. Leon can feel the staticky _awareness_ of someone else’s presence in his head, and he feels fucking blessed that they’re not doing on-ice drills today because he’s pretty sure he’d trip over his own blades at this rate.

As soon as they get a break, Connor heads straight for him with intent.

“So, this is fucking weird,” he says with no preamble, and Leon can’t help but agree because it is fucking weird. Fucking. Weird.

“We’re gonna have to talk to the trainers,” Connor continues. “They’re gonna make us wear dampeners when we play so we don’t have an unfair advantage.” 

And the weirdest thing is that Leon knows exactly how Connor feels about the whole concept—disgust with a healthy dose of skepticism—even though his tone has remained carefully neutral throughout the whole thing.

“You know a lot about… this,” Leon finally says when he becomes clear Connor’s waiting for him to say something. He’s pretty sure his confusion must be clear on his face, let alone in his mind. And if Connor’s picking up half as much from him as he is from Connor, well Connor knows exactly how he’s feeling.

Connor’s face clears. “Oh, yeah. Well, I’ve got a couple of buddies who are Soulbonded,” he says. “When they first realized, I did a lot of research to try and help them.”

Leon nods at that because it makes sense. Soulbounds aren’t exactly commonplace, but they’re not that rare. Leon doesn’t know the exact stats, but it seems like everyone knows someone with a Bond if they don’t have one themselves. 

~

Management takes it about as well as can be expected, which is somewhere between rubbing their hands together in glee at all the marketing opportunities and being downright terrified about what this means for future contract negotiations. 

“We can’t be traded away from each other if we don’t want to be,” Connor explains after they get out of Chiarelli’s office. “And a couple other things about rooms and stuff like that. You should probably let your agent know.”

“Yeah, okay,” Leon agrees because that’s the sensible thing to do. 

~

For the next few days, things are… odd. Management had promised both of them that no one would know about their Soulbond, so by the time they show up for their first on-ice drills, everyone knows. Of course. By the end of their first public practice, attended by what seems like a million people dying to get their first look at the Next One, Leon has a lot more sympathy for the lions in the zoo.

“How are you so unaffected?” Leon asks, picking off his sock tape while Connor unlaces his skates. Across the room, three guys are talking, but from the way their eyes keep darting, Leon would bet his WHL championship ring that they’re talking about him. Or Connor. Or him and Connor. Probably that one.

Connor just shrugs. Leon can’t help but admire the width of his shoulders, the subtle strength in his wrists. Connor grins at him, a little bashful. “I guess I’m just used to it,” he says, which makes Leon feel sorry for him.

There’s also something else there, a tendril of something that feels like a little like longing and a lot like jealousy that isn’t his. Leon pushes it aside because it makes no sense.

~

The most surreal thing about being Soulbonded to Connor McDavid is how ordinary it is. They finish camp, and Leon goes home and tells his family, who take it rather well excepting the fact that he didn’t bring Connor home with him.

He hangs out with his childhood friends, but it’s becoming harder and harder to find common ground with them. He ends up spending a lot of time Skyping with Connor, getting to know him past his media persona. And he likes what he finds. Likes it a lot, in fact. So much that Kim starts asking if he’s Skyping his boyfriend with a smug smile on her face. Leon really hates his sister sometimes.

The thing about the summer is that it seems both never ending and over in the blink of an eye. Just as Leon feels like he has everything under control, it’s time to get back on a plane and get back to it. Kim takes him to the airport and tells him that he’s going to kill it in the coming year. 

He sleeps most of the trip back to Toronto, where he has to clear customs, and then he has to get on another plane. By the time he’s finally back in Edmonton, it’s late and he’s tired. He’s intent on getting to the hotel, which is why he almost walks by Connor.

“Hey, Drai,” Connor says, keeping his voice low so as not to draw attention to either of them.

“Did your plane just get in too?” Leon asks because there’s no other reason for Connor to be at the airport.

“Couple days ago,” Connor mumbles. “Hope you don’t mind that the Head Office gave me your flight info. They were going to send like an intern or something, but I said I’d come and get you. I hope that’s okay.”

Leon can’t help but smile at that. “Yeah,” he agrees. He manages to summon up a tiny smile for Connor though, which is all the other man seems to need. “Let’s get out of here.” First, they have to stop and get his bags. Connor takes his gear bag, leaving Leon with his suitcase. 

The ride from the airport is long enough that Leon falls asleep in the passenger seat with the soft feeling of Connor’s contentment buzzing in the back of his mind. 

~

The first day of rookie camp is okay. It’s pretty much the same group from development camp, along with a few other guys from the NCAA or juniors that have had impressive seasons. Leon takes a page out of Connor’s playbook and doesn’t let the stares or the whispers bother him. 

“Come look at apartments with me,” Connor tells him after they’re done with the media. “I mean, if you want. I know it’s kind of early, but I don’t want to spend any more time at the hotel than I have to.”

When Leon was up last year, he lived with Hendy and his family, but that doesn’t really make sense for this year. He knows management has been throwing around the idea of Connor living with Hallsy, but Leon has to admit that he likes the idea of living with Connor, of them having their own space. 

“Yeah, sure,” he agrees because he gets it. They spend enough time in hotel rooms on the road. Too much time, really. And Leon’s really looking forward to spending some quality time with his Soulbonded. He’s been looking forward to it for a little while now. 

Connor’s got a real estate agent named Jenna, one recommended to him by the team, and a list of likely places ready to go. 

And the thing is that they’re all nice places, but none of them really feel like home. Through the Bond, he can feel, in a general sense, Connor’s mounting frustration. And honestly, he’s probably not any better. 

“I don’t know what we’re missing,” Leon grumbles when they finish looking at the fourth apartment that just isn’t quite right. 

“Let’s pick this up again next week,” Connor tells Jenna. “I think maybe he we need to re-evaluate some things.”

“Of course,” she agrees, her professional smile never faltering. 

The ride back to the hotel is quiet. Leon’s starting to get a sense for how their Soulbond works, so he can tell that Connor’s a little frustrated, but he’s not upset. And he’s got no real investment in this yet, so he’s not really sure why he feels so upset.

“What’s the matter?” Connor asks, navigating downtown Edmonton with surprising ease.

“I don’t know,” Leon admits. “I’m still sort of figuring this Soulbond thing out, but I’m pretty sure that’s not you, and I know it’s not me.”

“Not me what?” Connor asks, putting on his signal light to turn left.

“You’re… disappointed,” Leon says, tasting the word on his tongue and trying to decide if it fits, “but you’re not upset. And I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s not me, so…” he trails off.

Connor’s silent while he makes the turn. “I’m not getting upset from you,” he admits, and it seems to cost him something to say that. “I think we better talk to management.”

Leon doesn’t like the sound of that at all.

~

He spends the next day stressed and short-tempered. He snaps at a couple of the other rookies until Connor shoots him a look full of irritation. Out of the corner of his eye, Leon can see Darnell Nurse shooting him concerned looks as well, which does nothing to quell his own irritation but does remind him to keep it inside. 

At their last water break, he ends up next to Nursey, who’s watching him carefully, like he’s afraid Leon’s going to break or something.

“I’m fine,” he grumbles, fingers clenching on his water bottle.

“You’re clearly not, dude,” Nursey says. His tone is bland, but Leon can _feel_ his… concern. Which definitely should not be a thing.

Connor looks over then, his focus laser-like in the wake of Leon’s panic. He finds his way over even though it must look super obvious to everyone.

“Ten more minutes,” is all he says. “You got this.”

Leon makes himself nod even though he’s freaking out. And thank God for drills because you don’t really have to think about drills, you just do them. He does them, and then it’s over. He’s one of the first off the ice, and he’s in the showers before most of the guys have even made it to the room. 

By the time he’s finished his perfunctory rinse-off, guys are starting to trickle in. He heads directly to his stall, trying to project ‘leave me alone’ vibes. Thankfully, the guys seem to get it. Not Connor, who parks himself in the stall right next to Leon even though his is across the room, and not Nursey, who keeps shooting him concerned looks under his eyelashes when he thinks Leon’s not paying attention, but everyone else.

Connor doesn’t say anything, but he can feel the reassurance that the younger man is practically pushing at him. 

“Chia’s waiting,” Connor tells him when the room is mostly empty. Nursey is still watching them from across the room while pretending to repack his gear, but Leon can feel his concern now that he knows to look for it. It’s… more muted than Connor’s, a whisper in the back of his mind where Connor is a shout, but it’s most definitely there.

“Yeah, better get this over with,” Leon agrees because he doesn’t have any clue what their GM is going to say. As far as he knows, this shouldn’t even be possible. Everything he knows says that Soulbonds are between two people and only two people, and Connor doesn’t seem to feel Darnell at all. 

~

There are several other people in the room when Connor and Leon finally make it to the GM’s office, including Coach and the team psychologist and a couple people Leon doesn’t know. 

Connor takes the lead, for which Leon’s grateful, and if he didn’t know better, he’d think that Connor was completely calm while laying out the situation. He lets Leon explain how he’s been feeling more than one set of emotions that aren’t his, only to have someone in the back of the room interrupt.

“Are you sure?” she asks, and her voice sounds high and excited.

“Pretty sure,” Leon agrees dryly.

And then the woman is off, pushing her way to the front of the group and talking faster than Leon can follow. Everything she says is really technical, and Leon just sort of zones out after the science words start coming. He barely passed biology in high school, and it was a lot easier than this Bond shit.

What eventually comes out of it is that he and Connor have a meeting with the woman—Dr. Perez—before camp tomorrow.

It’s not until they’re in Connor’s car that Leon says anything. “I’m pretty sure it’s Nursey,” he tells Connor. “The other Bond, I mean.”

The only way that Leon knows Connor heard him at all is the roil of emotion that comes across the Bond, sharp and immediate in a way nothing he’s ever felt from Connor has been. He tries to pull back from the Bond instinctively, and it goes quiet in the same way it did when Leon was in Cologne and Connor was in Toronto. He’s not sure if that’s what’s muting Connor’s feelings or if Connor is doing something on his end.

They don’t say anything for the rest of the ride back to the hotel.

Leon sleeps poorly and feels like shit when his alarm goes off the next morning. He drags himself to the arena and loiters in the room until Connor shows up.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, but he doesn’t meet Leon’s eyes for the first time since the Bond formed. Leon isn’t sure what to make of that. “Let’s get this over with, huh?” he asks, motioning towards the door with his chin.

In that moment, Leon catches just a shard of a fear not his own. It’d deep and sharp and brittle. Leon’s pretty sure that if he could touch it, it would shatter under the slightest pressure. 

“I’m not going anywhere, Davo.” He doesn’t know why he says it, not really, but he watches _something_ flit across Connor’s face before he puts on his blank media face. Leon tries the Bond, but it’s like there’s a wall between them, and he can’t get through it.

“Let’s get this over with,” Connor says, his tone bland. Leon’s pretty sure he’s going to start talking about giving 110% and making every shift count in a second. It makes him want to laugh even though there’s nothing funny about this situation at all. 

Dr. Perez—call me Isobel—is waiting for them. “This is just such an interesting case study,” she gushes while they settle into the two chairs on the other side of her desk. 

She goes on for a couple minutes, talking about differential Bonds and Lindsey levels, and Leon has absolutely no clue what the hell she’s talking about. “But what does all that mean?” he asks.

The doctor stops. “Oh, yes, of course. I have some reading I can give you if you want more information. How much do you know about Bonds?”

Leon shrugs. “What you see on TV,” he says and watches her lip curl a little.

“Well, most of what they show on television isn’t right. Soulbonds form between people who are compatible. They’re often, although not always, romantic in nature, and you can form more than one Bond, although doing so is quite rare. Still, there’s nothing abnormal about what you’re experiencing right now.”

Leon feels something unwind inside himself that he didn’t even know was there. 

“Usually, one Bond will be stronger, which is also completely normal,” the doctor continues. “Some people can sense only the strongest feelings through their Bonds while others get the whole range of even weak emotions. Some Bonded couples claim to be able to read each others’ minds, but there’s no scientific proof that it’s possible.”

The doctor looks over at Connor. “There’s very little research on how multiple Bonds affect one another,” she admits, “but there’s no reason to believe that it would be in any way detrimental. In fact, it should have the opposite effect, helping to stabilize it. The triangle is one of the strongest shapes in the natural world, after all.”

She gives them both some materials to read and lets them go with admonishments to come back if the Bonds make thinking difficult or cause any physical pain. As soon as they leave her office, Leon lets his mind reach out again, looking for Connor, but the wall is still firmly in place. 

Practice doesn’t go well. Leon’s able to keep control of it while they’re on the ice, but as soon as they’re back in the room, he feels jittery and tense.

“You okay?” Darnell asks while Connor’s in the shower. Leon’s still picking off his sock tape, focused and methodical. 

“Yeah,” Leon lies. He doesn’t like doing it, and Darnell can probably feel his guilt, but he needs to find out what’s upsetting Connor before he starts dealing with having a second Bond. “I’ll get back to you,” he adds because that, at least, feels more honest. 

“I’ll be waiting,” Darnell says before he too heads off to the showers. 

Leon lets his head drop into his hands. He has absolutely no fucking clue what he’s going to do about this. Someone, he thinks it’s Hallsy, claps him on the shoulder on the way by and says, “Chin up, Drai.”

It’s not very comforting.

By the time Leon’s got all his shit together, both Connor and Darnell have disappeared. He heads back to the hotel with Klef and a couple of the other guys who don’t have—or need--permanent places to stay.

It’s a little awkward, and it only serves to remind Leon that he needs to be working harder on fitting in with the team as well as with Connor and Darnell. He asks a couple of questions and tries his best to answer the questions that come back to him. It turns out that Klef has a Soulbonded too although he refuses to say who it is. He knows more about the mechanics of Soulbonding than Leon does, and he’s more than willing to talk about it.

“Thanks,” Leon tells him in the elevator after the others have gotten off at their floors. 

“No problem,” Oscar says. “I think we’ve got to stick together. Everyone thinks it’s like the movies, but they don’t know how hard it can be.”

“No idea,” Leon finds himself agreeing.

~

Around nine at night, Leon feels anger not his own, starburst bright, from Connor. The thing that scares him, however, is the burning ire coming from Darnell at the same time. Leon texts them both but doesn’t get an answer from either of them. 

Leon spends another restless night imagining what the fuck was going on between them and gets a ride in to practice with Klef, who seems content to talk about his confusion when his Bond first formed. Leon doesn’t say much in reply, mostly because he doesn’t really know what he’s feeling right now.

“You okay?” Klef asks while they’re stopped at a red light.

“I think I might kill them,” Leon blurts out and then has to spend the whole rest of the ride explaining the situation.

“That’s a lot,” Klef says as they pull into the parking lot, “and I hope you don’t think it’s arrogant of me, but I will tell you that you have to talk. People think that the Bond is the answer to everything, but it isn’t.” Oscar’s tone is bland, almost carefully so. Leon doesn’t push, but he knows there’s a story there.

“I will,” he promises.

“Good luck,” Klef says and then he’s parking the rental and they’re both hustling to the room to get ready for practice. 

“Can we talk?” Connor asks when Leon starts pulling on his gear.

“Oh, now you want to talk?” Leon snaps. Connor’s face falls, which makes Leon feel guilty even though he hasn’t done anything.

“After,” he says, and then he has to hustle to get on the ice before he’s late for practice and ends up doing a bag skate, which would be the last thing he needs.

~

After practice, which seems to take three times longer than normal, Leon drags himself out to the parking lot—waving Klef off along the way—to find both Connor and Darnell waiting for him by Connor’s rental. 

Leon doesn’t say anything to either them, just climbs into the passenger seat and stares out the window until they get to their destination. Which is apparently a Starbucks.

“What?” Connor demands, apparently able to sense Leon’s disbelief even if Leon’s still getting nothing from him. “It’s neutral and public. And people don’t pay attention to conversations happening around them.”

So they all get coffees—well, Leon gets a coffee and Darnell gets an iced macchiato and Connor gets some sort of iced tea and fruit thing and ends up stirring the ice around with his straw.

“So?” Leon demands when neither of his Bonded seem inclined to say a damned thing.

“So, Davo and I talked,” Darnell begins, “and we think…” 

Leon doesn’t hear the rest of whatever Darnell says because all he can hear is the blood rushing in his ears because they were talking _about_ him. Without him. 

“And you didn’t think I want to be part of a conversation?” he asks, making sure to choose his words carefully and enunciate them clearly. His accent is usually hardly noticeable, but he’s told it gets thicker when he’s angry (and drunk) and he wants to be clear. 

Connor’s face does something strange at that, and Leon catches a blast of embarrassment, made even stronger by the fact he’s pretty much felt nothing from Connor for two days now. “Yeah, that probably wasn’t very smart,” he mutters. 

“No, it really wasn’t,” Leon agrees.

“Sorry,” Connor mumbles, and Leon’s pretty sure he’s not imagining the blush spreading across Connor’s cheeks or the way Darnell’s pushing his drink back and forth across the table. 

“And so, what was it that you two decided without me?” Leon asks. Well, demands really. 

“Look,” Darnell breaks in. “Like, I can sort of feel you, and I think you can sort of feel me, but I can’t feel Davo at all, and he can’t feel me either. So once we figured that out, we tried to figure out what to do about it, but that didn’t go very well.”

Which explains the anger from last night. “And?” he pushes. He didn’t really expect this.

“Davo did a bunch of research into it,” Darnell says, which is just about the least surprising thing Leon has heard so far today. 

“You can choose to break one of the Bonds,” Connor interrupts, “but that’s going to be painful for everyone, and it can cause long-term negative effects. At the very least, you’d probably miss two or three weeks with Bond separation sickness. So would whoever you chose to let go. You probably wouldn’t be able to be around each other long-term either. The organization would probably get shafted on the trade, and they’d be pissed about that.” Connor pauses for a second. “It’s not an ideal situation for anyone.”

“No,” Leon agrees, and not just because the thought of breaking either of his Bonds makes him sick to his stomach. “No, I don’t want to do that.”

“Okay,” Connor agrees, nodding. “So, you’ve got a lot of options then,” he says. Leon waves him off when he sees a couple of fans approaching with a Sharpie marker pilfered from behind the till.

They all end up signing Starbucks drink sleeves, and then they hightail it out of there. “So yeah, there’s a lot of ways to do it,” Connor says when they’re all on their way back to the hotel. “Some of the websites suggest like schedules to deal with jealousy issues…”

“That’s fucking stupid,” Leon grumbles. “I’m not going to schedule my life any more than it already is. I like you both.” That’s probably a significant understatement when it comes to Connor, and while he’s not sure exactly how he feels about Darnell yet, it’s definitely not apathy. “I want to spend time with you both. Unless you like secretly hate each other.”

“No,” Darnell denies, shooting a look at Connor. “Davo and I are cool.”

“So maybe Nursey should come look at apartments with us?” Leon suggests. “And then we’ll go from there?”

Connor’s silent for a moment. “I’ll talk to Jenna and see what she has with three bedrooms,” he says. He sounds contemplative but not angry.

Leon’s going to take the win.

~

The very last thing Leon’s expecting is to be sent down, but that’s exactly what happens. Chiarelli and Coach call him in to a meeting and tell him that they’re very impressed with his development, but they think some time in Bakersfield would be helpful to him. Leon nods in all the right places, or at least he’s pretty sure he does. He doesn’t hear much beyond the word Bakersfield. 

Both Connor and Darnell must have sensed his upset, and they’re both waiting for him in the locker room. He doesn’t say anything to either of them, just starts packing up his gear.

“One of you needs to give me a ride to the airport,” he finally says when he’s sure he’s got his emotions under control. 

“What the fuck?” Connor demands, and it’s echoed by Darnell only a few seconds later.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” he says because he doesn’t. He just wants to go. 

“Yeah, of course, anything you need.” It’s Darnell who says that, but he can feel the same sentiment from Connor. They both end up accompanying him to the airport.

The flight to Bakersfield is long. He’s got a layover in LA, so he Snaps both Darnell and Connor when he lands, just a picture of a random part of the airport. He gets messages back from both of them. Connor sends him a picture of his hotel room, and Darnell sends him a string of emojis, some of which make absolutely no sense. Seriously, what does the flamenco-dancing lady have to do with him getting sent down?

Whatever. It’s the thought that counts.

His hotel room in Bakersfield is just as generic but not quite as nice as the one he had in Edmonton. He wonders absently how the apartment search is going, and how Connor and Darnell are getting along. _If_ they’re getting along.

He thinks about sending Connor another Snap, this one of his new hotel room, but he’s fucking tired. He falls onto the bed and is asleep before he can do more than pull off his t-shirt and kick off his sweats.

Practice in Bakersfield is weird. He knows pretty much all the guys, so it’s not that. It’s just that he keeps reaching for his Bonded, only they’re not on the ice with him. The Bond itself is stretched so thin that he can barely feel Connor, and he only feels Darnell when the emotion is particularly strong. 

He’s grabbing lunch with a couple of the guys from camp, trying to make friends, when he gets a bunch of photos from Connor. They’re all of a condo with an open floor plan and three bedrooms.

He sends back the thumbs up emoji because it’s not like he’s there to look at it, and he trusts Connor.

Connor’s only response is a picture of Darnell standing in the middle of the kitchen and smiling, and Leon can’t help but smile at that too. Clearly, he needn’t have worried about them getting along.

~

He stays down in Bakersfield for six games before he gets called back up. The team is struggling to string some wins together in a consistent manner, and Coach must thing that Leon can help like that. He doesn’t bother to message either Connor or Darnell, but someone must tell him because the entire trip back is underscored by a hum of anticipation that’s not all his.

There’s someone from the front office waiting for him at the airport. “The team is practicing right now,” the man says. “We won’t make it back in time, but you should be able to skate with them tomorrow.”

Leon nods because the guy isn’t saying anything he doesn’t already know, but his mother didn’t raise him to be rude, especially not to people who are only trying to help.

“Did you want to go straight to the hotel, or would you like to stop for food?” the man asks. Leon’s fucking starving, but if Connor and Darnel don’t want to get something, he’ll just get room service.

“Hotel,” he says. He’s not jet lagged, thank God, but it’ll be nice to take a shower and get rid of the gross feeling of airplane.

“Coming right up,” the man agrees, and then proceeds to talk about the team and the city the entire way back from the airport, like Leon’s never been to Edmonton before.

“Thanks,” Leon tells him when they pull up in front of the hotel. 

“No problem. Just let the front office know if you need anything else,” the man says, positively chipper. 

Leon nods. Check-in is relatively painless, and in next to no time, Leon’s taking a long, hot shower. When he gets out, he’s got a couple of messages from Connor and Darnell. He sends them both his room number, and he’s just finished pulling on his t-shirt when there’s a knock.

Both Connor and Darnell are waiting in the hallway, practically vibrating in excitement.

“How was practice?” Leon asks, just to be a shit.

Connor rolls his eyes. “We can talk about practice later,” he replies. “You’ve got to come and see our place.”

Leon likes the way that sounds: our place. A place for all of them.

~

Leon doesn’t have a lot of stuff to move into their new place, which is good because he focuses most of his energy on finding his place on the team and playing wearing his new dampener, which mutes the Bonds but doesn’t completely silence them. He’s pretty sure he’s kicking ass, and they’ve actually started winning games, so win-win.

Except for the fact he’s still not quite sure what’s going on with either of his Bonded. He’s gone out with each of them separately, quick trips to get groceries and furniture, and one rather memorable trip to IKEA to get absolutely everything else. 

Okay, so the IKEA trip is a bit of a disaster, but now they have plates and bowls and silverware and glasses and pots and pans and a coffee table that it took all three of them to put together. (Leon’s not entirely sure it’s not going to fall apart as soon as they put something on it.) They’ve got an entertainment shelving unit for their huge ass TV and their gaming consoles. They even got a couple of lamps, so it’s almost like they’re real adults.

Almost. Darnell still does pretty much all their cooking because both he and Connor are pretty hopeless in the kitchen. Connor does rinse a mean plate though. Leon’s technically in charge of vacuuming and laundry, but the team washes most of their shit, and he’s always been pretty shit at remembering to vacuum.

The single blemish on what would otherwise be a perfect start is that Leon hasn’t managed to get either of them into bed yet. He’s managed some quality groping with Connor, but Connor always pulls back from anything more. He’s barely managed more than a couple of chaste kisses with Darnell even though he can feel Darnell’s desire like a flame.

After a particularly satisfying victory against their neighbours down the QE2, the entire team ends up in the VIP room of a faux country club Hallsy seems to love. Leon doesn’t really get the appeal, but he imagines it has something to do with the servers in plaid shirts with half the buttons undone and short jean shorts. 

They manage to get pretty drunk on terrible American beer and shots anyway, the guys ordering some of the grossest things imaginable just because they have funny names. By the time Leon, Connor, and Darnell climb into an Uber to take them home, they’re all pretty drunk. Connor still manages to make pleasant small talk about their chances with their driver on their short ride.

Connor overpays the guy, and then they all stumble back into their condo. Leon ends up pushing Connor against the door as soon as it’s closed and biting his way down to the join of his neck and shoulder. He can feel Darnell clearly for once: all want and a little bit of fear. No jealousy, but Leon’s still too drunk to figure out exactly what that means. 

Connor pushes him away after only a couple minutes. “Not while we’re all drunk,” he says. Leon wants to argue, but he knows that Connor’s right.

“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Connor promises. 

Leon’s got not choice but to believe him.

~

The next morning Leon finds out that not everything about being Bonded to two other guys is wonderful when he wakes up with three people’s hangovers eating at his brain.

They should probably talk about what last night almost was, but it takes all three of them just to get the coffee maker going and making the greasiest breakfast allowable in their diet plans, which still isn’t greasy enough for Leon’s head.

Thankfully, they don’t have skate today, so Leon settles his ass down on the couch and brings up Netflix. 

“Netflix and chill?” he calls back to both Connor and Darnell. He hears one of them—he’s not sure which—do an actual spit take with shock. It’s almost like they think he didn’t go to an actual Canadian high school with actual teenagers. He knows all the same slang they do. 

Connor joins him with a couple more cups of coffee and passes him one. “About last night…” he begins, and Leon feels an overwhelming sense of dread. This is where Connor tells him that it was fun, but it was a mistake or something.

“Jesus Christ, Davo,” Darnell complains, joining them. “What the fuck did you say?” 

“Nothing,” Connor defends himself. “I was waiting for you. Like we agreed.”

This is not doing anything to make Leon feel better about the situation.

Darnell rolls his eyes. “If I can feel that, you can definitely feel that. Look, Drai,” he says turning towards Leon. “So what Davo was supposed to be saying was that neither he nor I are interested in keeping these Bonds platonic.”

“Okay,” Leon drawls because that’s good to know. Most Bonds include some romance, but there are platonic Bonds. Dr. Perez said as much

“And we figure the best way to do that and avoid any jealousy is with openness,” Connor continues in his most earnest voice, the one that’s going see him made captain sooner rather than later.

“He means threesomes,” Darnell interrupts, shrugging off Connor’s glare.

And it’s not like he hasn’t considered it sort of idly, but there’s no Bond between Connor and Darnell. He says as much.

“People have sex without being Bonded all the time,” Darnell points out. His tone says he thinks that’s the stupidest argument ever. “And Davo’s not completely hideous.”

Connor rolls his eyes. “Thanks so much, Nursey,” he returns. “I suppose you’re not completely hideous either. I can take one for the team.” He’s grinning while he says it, so that they know he’s joking.

“We’re not saying it has to happen,” Connor continues in that same earnest tone. “But we both thought that you should know that it’s a possibility.”

And that’s way more than Leon thought he’d have when he realized he was also Bonded to Darnell.

“Okay,” Leon mumbles. “Now can we Netflix and chill?”

Darnell bursts out laughing.

They end up making out through several episodes of _Suits_ , but it doesn’t go any further than that. The promise is there, however, and Leon’s surprisingly okay with that.

~

It’s hockey that finally moves them, just like it always is. Connor breaks his damn collarbone. Leon feels it immediately, even with the dampener, the pain sharp and bright and followed immediately by overwhelming fear. He sends back as much reassurance and hopes it gets through. After that, he can and tries to focus on beating the shit out of the Flyers and not losing his damn mind. 

Down the bench, he can _feel_ Darnell’s resolve harden too. They’re going to win this game for Connor.

“Davo’s still in the exam room,” is the first thing Coach McLellan says when they get to the intermission. “It doesn’t look good.”

They win that night, but it’s a hollow victory. By the time post-game media is done, Connor’s fear is muted by whatever drugs they’ve given him, hazy and indistinct but still there. 

One of the trainers pulls him aside and tells him that Connor’s going for surgery in the morning. 

“Can I see him?” he asks. Darnell is hovering a few feet away. “Can we see him? Just quick.”

The trainers don’t really want to let them in, but Leon is Connor’s Bonded, and he knows how to use that. Connor’s pretty out of it, but he smiles at them both of them. “Hi,” he mumbles. 

“Everything’s going to be okay,” Leon promises. “Everything’s going to be okay, love.” He believes it because he has no other choice. He projects that belief at Connor, who seems to accept it with an easy smile.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “It’s gonna be fine.”

~

Connor goes back home to start his rehab since they’re on the road too much for him to stay in Edmonton. It’s hard to be away from him, but he and Darnell Skype with him every day. 

“I miss you,” Connor says when Leon calls him while they’re in LA on a short trip. “I’m coming back to Edmonton when you guys get back from this road trip.” He says it with the same certainty as when he’s promising to get the puck to Leon on the powerplay. 

“Can’t wait,” Leon promises. 

“Miss you, Davo,” Darnell says.

“Me too,” Connor mumbles. “Both of you.”

“We’ll make it a memorable return,” Darnell promises with a grin. 

~

Connor’s waiting for them when they get back from practice. His arm is still in a sling and strapped down to his chest to prevent him from jostling it too much accidently. 

“Fuck, I missed you both,” Connor says, and Leon can feel relief and desire thrumming down their Bond. 

“Missed you too,” Leon mumbles, hugging Connor gingerly and trying not to bump his shoulder at all.

Darnell and Connor share a one-armed bro hug, and they settle back into their previous routine with little fuss. 

“So any word from the physios?” Leon asks while they’re all sitting on the couch watching the Leafs lose, much to the chagrin of his GTA boys. Apparently, you can take a boy out of the GTA, but he’s never going to give up on the Leafs.

Connor tries to shrug and ends up wincing. “It’s getting better,” he says. “I’m taking it one day at a time and doing what they say. It’s all I can really do, but it doesn’t make it suck less.”

Both Leon and Darnell make sympathetic noises because they’ve all had to rehab injuries before, although none as bad as Connor’s current injury. 

“I don’t want to think about this anymore,” Connor complains. “It’s bad enough that it happened, but now everyone acts like I’m never going to play again, or that I’m never going to be as good as I was.”

Leon can’t even imagine what it’s been like for Connor. Being so far away from him has made it difficult to read anything through the Bond.

“What can we do?” Darnell asks before Leon can.

“Wouldn’t say no to a blowjob,” Connor returns, and even though he’s not being serious, that’s absolutely something Leon can do.

He’s on his knees, fingers reaching for the waistband of Connor’s sweats before he actually thinks to ask if this is what Connor wants. The Bond—both Bonds actually—are thrumming with arousal, but that doesn’t mean that Connor is comfortable taking this step.

He looks up to ask, but Connor beats him to it. “Don’t fucking stop,” he growls.

So Leon gets Connor’s dick out of his pants and underwear and strokes it a few times, getting used to the weight and feel of it. His head is a constant feedback loop of arousal from both sides that makes it hard to think.

It’s easy enough after that to take Connor’s hard dick into his mouth, trying to figure out what Connor likes. He runs his tongue along the vein on the underside of Connor’s cock and listens to him choke on air. 

Behind him, he can hear Darnell jerking his own dick fast and hard, chasing his own orgasm.

“Fuuccck,” Connor mumbles, throwing his head back. “Not gonna last, Leon,” he grits out, fighting to keep his body still. 

Leon pulls back far enough to say, “Come. Come on, Connor. I want you to come.”

Connor obliges him, coming a moment later. He doesn’t shout or scream, but his whole body goes rigid. Leon just gets enough warning to pull back and ends up with a face full of come.

“Sorry,” Connor mutters, voice weak.

“‘Sfine,” Leon mumbles, wiping come off the bridge of his nose. He turns to look back at Darnell, who’s still jerking it furiously.

“Holy fuck,” Darnell swears, and then he comes in his fist. Leon grabs a tissue from the decorative tissue box on their coffee table and wipes the rest of the come off his face. Impulsively, he licks the come off his fingers and listens to them both groan.

“Come on, Leon,” Darnell pants. “Give us a show.”

Leon can feel the contentment coming off Connor and Darnell in almost equal measure. He still hasn’t come, but it almost feels like he has, and both Connor and Darnell are staring at him like he’s the best thing on the planet. So he takes his time and shows them what he likes best. 

He can feel their eyes on him and that, even more than his own hand, is what gets him off. 

He half expects it to turn awkward since first times inevitably are, but Connor mumbles something about a shower and Darnell grabs the television remote and turns on some new Hollywood blockbuster since the Leafs have lost without them. 

Leon doesn’t say anything until Connor comes back from his shower, minus his sling. 

“So that was okay, right?” he asks.

“Fucking great,” Connor agrees with a shy smile at the same time Darnell declares, “Amazing.”

Leon knows they’re going to be restricted in what they do for a little while, but he’s already looking forward to welcoming Connor back to the ice when the time comes. From the twinge of arousal that comes down his Bond with Darnell, Nursey is too.

“Good,” Leon says, feeling so smugly satisfied that both Connor and Darnell have to know it as he heads to take a shower of his own.

Leon knows they’ve still got things to work on, but he’s never been afraid of hard work, and he knows that neither Connor nor Darnell are either. 

~

They still have missteps. Road trips are hard on Connor, leaving his irritable and snappish. Both Darnell and Leon try their best to make him feel included, but that only seems to make it worse. 

“I don’t know what you want,” Leon tells Connor, who’s sulking on his bed while Leon ties his tie.

“I want to be able to play,” Connor whines. 

“We all want that,” Leon promises. He moves to sit next to Connor on his bed and leans down and kisses him. “It’s coming, Con. You’ve just got to be patient.”

“I hate that you leave me,” Connor says, his voice small. He refuses to meet Leon’s eyes. 

Darnell appears in the doorway, ready to go. “We’re not leaving you, Davo,” he says, striding over to the bed and kissing Connor’s forehead. “We’ll Skype you every day, keep you up on all the team gossip. Promise.”

Connor says something then, but Leon doesn’t hear him. He can feel Connor’s fear and insecurity through the Bond though, and it’s almost physically painful to him.

“No, Davo,” Darnell says, his tone as serious as Leon’s ever heard it. “No one’s replacing you. Not me, not anyone. No one ever could, and we’d never want anyone else.”

Connor surges forward and kisses Darnell then, hard and with a desperate edge. 

Leon’s heart is so unbelievably full watching the two of them together.

~

Just after the Christmas break, Darnell plays the worst game he’s played in an Oilers sweater. Leon can feel the disgust and self-recrimination down their Bond from across the room, but nothing he says to Darnell seems to make one bit of difference.

Connor’s waiting for them down by the car. He looks at Darnell. “Don’t dwell on it,” he says in his captain’s voice. “We all have shitty games. Put it behind you and play better next time.”

He can feel the self-recrimination almost melt away from Darnell the longer Connor speaks. It’s times like these that Leon has trouble understanding why Connor isn’t already the captain.

~

In January, just before the All-Star Break, Leon feels an overwhelming sense of homesickness. There’s not enough time to go back home, but he really, really wants to.

They’re all sitting together on the couch watching the Sharks and the Ducks fight it out. Leon’s got his head pillowed on Darnell’s shoulder. Connor’s watching intently, probably making mental notes for the next time they play either team. 

“We should go somewhere for All-Star Break,” Darnell announces out of nowhere. “Somewhere warm.”

“Florida’s nice,” Connor says. “So’s SoCal.”

“Anywhere’s nicer than Edmonton right now,” Darnell grumbles. “It’s cold as hell here.”

“Isn’t hell supposed to be warm?” Leon asks and listens to Connor and Darnell debate where they should go. Listening to Connor talk about all the shit he did in Florida during his draft week, Leon can feel his homesickness leaching away. 

“Florida sounds nice,” he offers when Connor stops in the middle of his recitation of the great beaches and nightlife that’s supposed to be there. 

Darnell is already looking up flights on his phone. He books them into first class because he can.

~

Connor makes his triumphant return against Columbus, absolutely torching their defence and picking up five points in the process. 

On the bench, Leon feels the first stirrings of arousal. He looks down the bench and meets Darnell’s eyes as Connor does his flyby and sees the same arousal reflected there.

“You’re going to get so lucky tonight,” Leon tells Connor when they’re both on the bench together. Ebs resolutely ignores them, staring straight ahead like a man on his way to the gallows.

Connor grins at him, full of dirty promise. “Looking forward to it.”

Yeah, so is Leon.

Leon’s looking forward to it a lot. 

He’s looking forward to the rest of his life even more. It turns out that Dr. Perez might have been onto something with the triangles after all.

**Author's Note:**

> So, parts of this are true to the 2015-16 season, and parts of it are completely made up. Leon Draisaitl did get sent down to Bako for 6 games, Connor did break his collarbone, and the Oilers didn't play particularly well without him. However, Connor, Leon, and Darnell didn't live together during their rookie year, and none of the game results or road trips are actually true to the schedule.


End file.
